Tales from the Trips | Review and Giveaway

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John Cave Osborne writes a hilarious and yet down to earth biography about his life as a imagefather of triplets.  He traces their journey from conception (okay, really, he doesn’t actually talk about that) to just past the triplets’ first birthday (or is it birthdays?). 

It is honest and real.  It is also an easy, fun read.  A little peak into the world of a triplet parent.   John Cave Osborne answers all of the questions that people want (or do ask) of a triplet dad.  He shares their mini-competitions for most diapers changed, to becoming a dicing, food-slicing machine.

Instead of telling you too much more about the book, I thought it would be fun to ask John some questions that would let my readers get to know him and his writing style without ruining the book.

Which one of your kiddos is the most like you and why?

If I flat out had to choose, I’d say Jack is most like me. But it’s really more of a combo of Sam and Jack. Sam is very outgoing, a bit of a boundary pusher, and has a fiery temper. Jack is sensitive, kinda voyeuristic, and content to hang out solo. I was very much like Jack when I was young. Shy, inquisitive, and to myself. During my teens and twenties, I was more like Sam. Now I’m a mix of the two.

Which one would your wife say is the most like you and why?

She’d say the exact same thing. (sorry, I know that’s lame, but it’s true!)

I was walking with my neighbor, my daughter in her stroller, and her GGB triplets in their stroller.  One of her kids started crying as we walked past a lady, she responded "I wish I could help."  My neighbor just shrugged it off and said "thanks."   This started an entire discussion about the odd/rude things that people say to her about her kids.  If somebody says something to you, like "wow, better you than me" or "boy, you sure have your hands full" what is your typical response?  And, is that the same as what you really  want to say to them?

Krystyn, this boils down to a little something I like to call “the masses are asses.” There’s one thing you have to get used to when you find yourself in our situation. High-order multiples generate a tremendous amount of curiosity. You will get stopped repeatedly. You will field the same questions / hear the same statements over and over again.

The one I heard most was “Triplets? How’d that happen?”

Pretty amazing. After all, it’s pretty evident how babies “happen,” know what I mean? Yet I heard it so often, I literally had three responses. One was “My wife’s so pretty I had to get her pregnant three times.” (For the record, Caroline hated that one.) The other two? They’re in the book!

Another friend with identical triplet boys said that she’s had people say to her "I would kill myself if I was you."  What would you say is the worst question people have asked you?

The worst questions, to me, pertained to fertility. “Did y’all do in-vetro?” Pretty invasive stuff coming from someone you don’t even know. I always preface my answer with “Wow. Pretty bold question there.”

As a fellow Christian, I love that you wrote about the importance of baptizing your children and bringing them up the know God.  I think this is very important.   Do you pray at meal times as a family?  Like my kids, do yours start eating as soon as the food is in front of them, and you have to stop them and pray, thus getting to hold a hand covered in dinner?  (I think this is why my husband conveniently sits next to our oldest.)

You gotta remember we don’t really eat as a family quite yet. It’s more like Caroline or I (usually Caroline) will feed the trio while Alli and I sit at the table. But, yes, typically, we do, indeed, pray before meals. And Alli’s always been pretty good about waiting to dig in, but honestly, it’s been a while. We haven’t had a sit-down meal since these guys were born!

When your kids get to be school aged, how do you think you will approach the classroom setting?  Same class, all different classes, or just however it works out?

That’s an excellent question. We talk about that a lot, and because there are three, there’s no simple answer. We’ll probably let fate take control of that one. Sitting back and accepting the hand we’ve been dealt has worked pretty good for us thus far.

If you want to read even more about John and his family of six, head over to his blog, And Triplets Make Six.

Buy it: 30% of the sale of every one of Tales of the Trips goes to charity; Childhelp.org.  Talk about a generous author.

Win it: I will purchase one book for one lucky Really, Are You Serious? readers.  John has offered another book to match my purchase.  There will be TWO winners; each getting a copy of Tales of the Trips.

For your first entry:  Tell me what type of book you like to read.

EXTRA ENTRIES– Please leave an additional comment for each extra entry!
— Subscribe to this blog via email (you must confirm)
— Follow this blog publicly via blogger
— Add this blog to your text-based blog roll.
— Go visit John’s blog and leave a thoughtful comment.  You might even get to read an interview with Dooce while you are there.  Come back and leave a comment here letting me know that you did.
— Become a fan of Really, Are You Serious? on facebook, leave them a comment on their wall saying Really, Are You Serious? sent you -3 entries.
— Follow me on twitter and tweet this giveaway (leave the link to your tweet); one tweet daily; just come back and comment each time.

Really, Are You Serious w/ @SeriousKrystyn is giving away 2 copies of Tales of the Trips by @JohnCaveOsborne http://bit.ly/TalesfromtheTrips

THE RULES:
*OPEN TO US RESIDENTS ONLY
*Make sure I have a way to reach you, by either enabling your email through blogger, or leaving your email in the comment.
*Winners are chosen by random.org, so make sure you leave individual comments, not all of them in one!
*Winner has 48 hours to contact me, or another winner will be chosen.
*contest ends Wednesday, May 19th at 9pm EST. Winner will be posted shortly after.
*rules for each entry must be followed to be valid.

My opinions are my honest, and thoughtful views and were not influenced by any source. I was not compensated monetarily for this giveaway.  Thank you to Mr. Osborne for providing the book for review and one for the giveaway.

Congrats to the winners:

Here are your random numbers: 1 5

Timestamp: 2010-05-20 01:02:35 UTC

1. debbie said…
I like mysteries and science fiction.
twoofakind12@

5. cristiniscouponcrazy said…

i subscribe via email
itsmecristin@yahoo.com

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